Bachmann to endorse Romney

Rep. Michele Bachmann is set to endorse her former presidential opponent, Mitt Romney, at a Virginia campaign event on Thursday, a Romney aide confirmed to The Daily Caller.

CBS News first reported the news Wednesday evening. The endorsement would be the latest in a series of pledges of support from Romney’s former Republican rivals that at times have seemed half-hearted. Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich bowed out of the race on Wednesday and told supporters that Romney is “conservative enough,” compared with President Barack Obama. (RELATED: Full coverage of the Romney campaign)

Former Sen. Rick Santorum gave Romney a pittance worth of an endorsement on Piers Morgan’s CNN show last week when he said — as he has throughout the campaign — that he would support the Republican nominee, no matter who it is.

Morgan tweeted that Santorum had endorsed Romney outright during a commercial break, but the man with the second-most delegates refused to pledge his support to Romney by name.

Bachmann, the winner of the Iowa straw poll, drew tea party and conservative supporters — a constituency Romney needs to defeat Obama in November.